By Lady Saoirse
Bright Blessings,
I got a lesson in happiness at Alpha Book Center in Phoenix, Arizona way back in the Spring of 2005. The man who ran the Center was named Dr. John Rodgers, and he was a force of power. I had gone in for a tarot reading during a time when I felt like my life was off the rails. After he did my reading, he asked if I was staying for the Metaphysical class, and I asked who was coming. He said, “You’re it,” and with that, the class began.
It started with a question. “What is the meaning of life?” Dr. Rodgers asked me.
I had grown up Catholic, so my answer was not Metaphysical at all.
“To serve God.” I responded.
“No!” He said.
I tried a couple other answers I thought were right. Every attempt was met by him with an even more emphatic “No!” than the last one. Finally, he said, “To be happy! Do what makes you happy! That is the meaning of life!”
Nobody had ever given me permission to be happy before. As a matter of fact, I was expected to be miserable, and self-denial was my daily bread. That night at Dr. Rodger’s table was a major turning point for me. Nearly twenty years after my first discussion with him, I am still pondering what it means to be happy and why it is important.
To begin with, science explains why happiness is necessary for our health. Happiness helps you to combat stress and it makes your blood pressure and heart rate drop. It boosts your immune system and lowers inflammation. All of this means you get sick less often, heal faster when you are sick, and injuries are not as devastating on your much stronger body that heals faster anyways. You are more likely to make healthy food choices and have an active lifestyle.
It won’t make things like clinical depression go away, but doing things that boost happiness will make you more likely to take care of chronic illnesses. If you don’t try to do things that make you happy, you might not care about bothering with taking care of yourself. You will wonder what the point is when you just have another unhappy day to look forward to. Your hygiene can suffer, which can repel people- making you feel isolated, heartbroken, and even less likely to do for yourself. It creates a nasty cycle and it’s not worth it.
So, how can you do what makes you happy? Especially when there are limitations. Is money an issue? Time constraints? Are there physical constraints like chronic pain that hold you back from running cross country like you used to love to do? Some people see limitations like this as the ultimate happiness destroyers and assume they can NEVER be happy if they cannot have the ONE thing they just can’t have.
That’s where magic comes in. Oftentimes, we focus our spellwork on making a change in our environment. We sling a revenge curse on an ex. We get the bitch we can’t stand fired through spellwork. We do love spells and attraction magic to draw lovers. What we need to do with our magic is transform ourselves, and to be happy, we need to transform our attitude and behavior. If we have no control over ourselves, trying to control the world is pointless. There are a few things to keep in mind when you are seeking happiness. First, see possibilities instead of constraints. Then, cast off toxic mindsets. Then, go for it!
Focus on Possibilities
“I can’t take the expensive vacation I want, so I don’t even want a vacation at all then!” Okay. Number one you sound like a toddler- and number two if you restrict yourself like that, you have only yourself to blame when you are unhappy. Don’t focus on what you can’t have. Focus on what you love that can have and enjoy it.
Cast off Toxic Mindsets
Belief that you are unworthy of happiness is something ingrained in our minds from childhood. Girls especially are trained from a young age to put their own needs and desires aside and serve others tirelessly. I’m sorry, but it’s all bullshit. We do have to help one another and giving makes the world a better place. We have to also give to ourselves and accept what beautiful things life has to offer. Self-deprivation is not a virtue, it’s a vice. Don’t do it.
Go For It!
Eat the cake! One slice won’t make you balloon up two dress sizes. Go for a walk in the rain! Your clothes will dry. Wear the shorts. If people don’t like the way you look wearing them, let them look at something else. There are enough difficulties in life without self-imposed ones based on the misconception that you do not deserve to be happy. Do what makes you happy!
Dr. Rodgers was right. We should do what makes us happy. The meaning of life can be a lot of different things, but if you aren’t including your own happiness in it, you need to get started. We do reincarnate, so this life is not our only chance to be happy, but why wait? Do what makes you happy now. You deserve it.
Blessed Be.
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Lady Saoirse has studied magic and lore for most of her life but started walking her own magical path after being spiritually reborn in the desert. Today she is a High Priestess for The Temple of the Goddess, she is a psychic advisor and spiritual counselor, she is a member of the spiritual family at the Magical Druid in Ohio, and she shares her gifts as a Psychic and Content Writer for SpiritualBlossom and Mysticsense and she writes for PaganPages.Org emag.